Understanding the Position of a Legal Administrator
The legal administration field is a broad one, and covers many different job functions and specializations. Legal office managers oversee the day-to-day operations of the firm, supervising administrative staff and making sure that the office runs efficiently. Financial manager roles can be varied; many of these professionals work closely with attorneys and administrators to manage the practice’s profitability. Some legal finance managers deal specifically with billing, while others are accountants responsible for firm finances.
Human resources director positions are responsible for hiring administrative staff , make sure staff members are properly trained, and handle all employee-related matters, such as benefits and workers’ compensation claims. Marketing managers are in charge of designing marketing plans, overseeing any advertising or public relations, and managing social media accounts. Successful marketing managers have experience in the legal industry. Legal information technology managers handle all technical matters in the office, and are usually experts in legal technology, particularly practice management software.
Skills Essential for Legal Administrators
Essential Legal Administration Skills and Experience
A legal administrator must possess a number of essential qualities. First and foremost is a strong ability to organize and priorize. Legal administrators must be able to multitask, work well under pressure, and respond to a range of different emergency situations, duties, and co-worker requests that occur on any given day. For example, a legal administrator may have to juggle making travel arrangements for a partner in the morning, make lunch plans with an important client at lunch, and coordinate a busy calendar for another partner in the afternoon. Having strong organizational skills is essential when managing an office and coordinating a seemingly endless range of tasks and needs.
Legal administration professionals must also possess strong interpersonal and communication skills, as they have to function as a critical point of contact amongst law firm staff members, clients, and outside parties such as vendors. Further, having familiarity with different platforms in use in a law office, including computers, email systems, and software programs specific to the firm, is important. Having a grasp on a law office’s network and technology allows administration professionals to perform their jobs quickly and efficiently as well.
Finally, a legal administrator should possess leadership qualities, as they may have tasks and projects assigned to them that require the supervision of other employees. Having the ability to successfully motivate and delegate tasks amongst a team is essential for successful legal administration staff.
Although having a background in legal administration is not always necessary, a familiarity with common aspects of law office culture can help candidates compete effectively for a position.
Education and Credentialing
An aspiration to work in legal administration can be furthered by the achievement of academic and professional credentials, which afford eligibility for additional positions in the field, as well as the knowledge to excel in those positions. Fortunately for those considering this profession, many cities have colleges and universities that offer a plethora of degrees that will further an education and mark attainment of some level of academic achievement. Most will offer classes in business administration, as well as courses in various aspects of law. Although most legal administrators do not require a law degree, those who do earn one are often called on to lead strong respectable law firms. The possession of a degree in law is called a Juris Doctor. Some with law degrees forego practicing in a courtroom and use their education to administer to the needs of clients in a law office setting instead. This path may prove to be the most viable one for those who do not desire to advocate for a particular side, but would rather impartially contribute to a particular case.
As for certifications, many legal administrators achieve their first certification after approximately three years of employment in a related position. The requisite that must be met before obtaining certification requires that the applicant have been employed on a responsible basis for the past three years. Also, the applicant must demonstrate compliance with the set experience requirements. The initial certification that administrative candidates opt to obtain is called a CLM or Certified Legal Manager designation. It is sponsored by the Association of Legal Administrators, which hosts an annual certification test.
Opportunities and Career Advancement
Legal administration is a broad field with the potential for exciting legal opportunities. It includes supporting the needs of law firms, corporations, government agencies, and other organizations. For example, the Association of Legal Administrators was designed to support the law firm environment and to form professional affiliations. Within law firms, career paths include accounts payable, billing supervisor, law librarian, project manager, and chief operating officer .
Corporate legal departments seek law clerks, and highly skilled administrative executives in an effort to maintain their operations, conduct legal research, filing, and tracking, manage databases, and offer administrative counsel for corporate officers.
Governmental departments hire legal administrators in departments such as the Department of Justice, law enforcement, and Defense.
Professional and commercial organizations also hire in-house attorneys to provide legal support. These organizations may run public policy campaigns, insurance companies, banks, and technology companies.
The career potential in legal administration extends far beyond the boundaries of a law firm.
The Significance of the Association of Legal Administrators
Just as the accounting and finance professionals have their own specialized organizations, so too do those individuals who oversee the administration of law firms. The Association of Legal Administrators (or ALA), according to the group, is "committed to advancing the profession of legal management." Gigabytes of information are available from the assn, including sample employment agreements, a series titled "Practice specific guides for Legal Management," and regular events for networking. Membership in the oragnization confers discounts on many of these resources.
This sort of association is invaluable when you’re looking to make a career change or advancement. You’ll get to meet people who are doing the job you want, and thereby will have the opportunity to find out all about the position, salary and benefits, and the company culture. You’ll also get to meet recruiters who specialize in the placement of legal administrators.
Securing Employment as a Legal Administrator
The first place to consider are job boards, such as those found at the Association for Legal Administrators (ALA) and the National Association for Legal Professionals (NALP). Along with the ALA’s site, member-only job boards, such as the Legal Administrators’ Network, can be excellent sources. Additionally, LinkedIn has recently opened its jobs feature to groups. For law firms, the best source for job opportunity announcements is the legal recruiting profession. Legal recruiters are very much a specialized business, so choose wisely.
The ALA has a special career center (see above on job boards). Active members of that association have access to other members who have a similar focus. These job leads are often not available anywhere else, so it pays to use this service. The networking possibilities become even better if you attend ALA’s annual conference. Additionally the International Association for Legal Management Professionals (IALMP) and the European Legal Management Confederation are fine resources for the international audience .
Most law firms, especially larger firms, often employ a central firm-wide recruiter, rather than one for each office location. There are also specialty recruiting firms that want to place your legal administrator at an appropriate firm, rather than a fortune 500 client. In addition to the custom search, legal search firms may have an office that supports a specific geographic location or multiple offices that covers a geographic area.
Most law firms recruit from the same pool of candidates. In fact, the same recruitment firm sourcing candidates for more than one firm tells all of the firms they are supporting the name and/or identifying characteristics of candidates they have submitted to other firms. At any time, a candidate can be up for job matching at several firms. Therefore, if a candidate visits a firm, accepts a position, and the firm learns later that the candidate is working at a different firm, the firm feel victimized. Sourcing can take weeks, if not months, using a legal recruiter, and it is far too expensive to get this wrong.